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The Elephant Who Stopped For a Child

Posted by M Dee Dubroff on December 15, 2017

One elephant in a small Indian village has left its loving albeit destructive imprint on a family even though the animal broke down the door and crashed through the wall of their humble home in Olgara Village in West Bengal. Read on for more on this harrowing and poignant incident.

Do Elephants Have Empathy?

A number of years ago, a video surfaced that featured a elephant approaching a watering hole. A tortoise was blocking his path, and while he could have easily crushed it with just the slightest effort, instead, he gently pushed the tortoise out of the way. It has often been said that the powerful elephant is the one creature that does not know its true strength. (See:Frida The Earthquake Dog.)

Perhaps, as this true story indicates, the elephant might also have evolved far beyond human understanding and expectations, having the innate capacity to both regret its actions and empathize with others. For one unnamed Indian elephant that crashed through the home of Dipak and Lalita Mahato and their 10 month-old baby daughter, there seems no other explanation for its bizarre behavior. (See: Bonnets For Abigail.)

The Elephant Crashed Into the Home and Devastated Its Foundation

One evening a few months ago, a lone male elephant broke down a door and crashed through the wall of a home, probably in search of food. The flimsy structure gave way easily under the weight of the enormous animal, and chunks of wood and debris fell into the home's interior from everywhere. But something happened when the elephant heard a child crying in the center of the room now littered with wreckage. The enormous creature stopped in its tracks and slowly approached the child in the bed while her horrified parents helplessly look on, unable to reach her. (See: Pet Squirrel Foils Home Invasion.)

Although it will never be known exactly why the elephant stopped its devastating charge, animal behaviorists claim that elephants are known to respond to the sounds of suffering from other animals in the herd with caressing gestures and soothing sounds. All that is known in this instance is that the unnamed elephant, to the astonishment of the family whose home he had just demolished, stretched out his trunk and began to pluck debris off the baby's bed, cleaning up all the rubble that had fallen upon the little girl! (See; The Gorilla Who Saved a Little Boy.)

The family watched in utter amazement as the elephant gently removed the many shards of brick and stone. The mother said: "I can't believe the elephant saved my daughter after breaking down the door and smashing a wall." The child was taken to the hospital and treated for some external injuries. According to news sources, she is expected to make a full recovery. (See: Hero Cat Saves Trapped Neighbor.)

Ironically, in West Bengal, India, the Hindu elephant-headed deity, Ganesha, is revered as the remover of obstacles! To the child's parents, two miracles occurred. First, the elephant saved their little girl, and secondly, it subsequently turned and slowly walked away from the scene towards the forest from whence it came.

Who's to say?

Whatever happened remains a mystery. Still, it's nice to know that there are elephants that can perhaps teach us about gentleness and empathy, two things still sorely missing from the human condition.